The Boulder City Council has a packed agenda Tuesday night. In addition to taking up proposed permanent regulations for medical marijuana businesses, the nine elected officials are scheduled to:

provide direction on a work program for the Transit Village development at 30th Street and Pearl Parkway;

vote on the first reading of a tree-protection ordinance that would establish licensing requirements for arborists, set rules for homeowners to maintain certain trees and provide direction on rules to landmark historic trees;

vote on whether to give 16 contractors who were audited on projects the chance to appeal their tax bills;

and host a public debriefing of the Feb. 16 arrest of council critic Seth Brigham.

Boulder's medical marijuana industry, by the numbers

105 -- Estimated number of dispensaries and growing operations with sales tax licenses

$2.2 million -- Total sales of medical marijuana in 2009

$73,900 -- Amount of sales tax generated by medical marijuana in 2009

$6,000 -- Proposed fees to license medical marijuana businesses

When the Boulder City Council takes up the first reading of permanent rules for medical marijuana businesses Tuesday night, one of the considerations will be how much money the city stands to make off the budding industry.

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According to a new city report, the estimated 105 medical marijuana dispensaries and growing operations generated $73,900 in sales-tax revenue through the end of 2009.

While a handful of dispensaries and growing operations were doing business early in the year, city records show the vast majority of them didn't open until September or later. That means the bulk of the tax revenue was made during just one quarter of the year.

Based on the tax rate of 3.41 percent, marijuana businesses sold about $2.2 million worth of edible and smokable medication during that time.

If the numbers hold up, the city stands to make about $295,000 in marijuana-related sales tax revenue this year, in addition to the $630,000 or so that could be generated from proposed licensing fees.

But Bob Eichem, Boulder's finance manager, said it's not at all clear whether the trend will continue.

"We really don't have a good feel of what it will eventually be," he said of total sales taxes on marijuana sales.

Shifts in supply and demand or increased competition among businesses could affect overall sales, Eichem said.

How revenue could be affected by permanent regulations -- which could include creating a licensing system for medical marijuana businesses, setting hours of operation, requiring security and limiting the number of dispensaries in certain areas -- also isn't known.

"Whenever you have a new segment in the community ... it takes awhile for things to sort out," he said.

While many dispensary owners have argued that their businesses are providing much-needed revenue during a time of national economic recovery, Eichem said the overall impact from medical marijuana isn't yet significant. So far, the total sales tax revenue from medical marijuana is just more than one-tenth of 1 percent of the city's overall sales tax collection.

"Like with all taxes, it's important to the operation of the city," he said. "But at this time it hasn't had a large impact on revenues."

Eichem, however, acknowledged that the city will take whatever it can get during tough times.

"It's $74,000 the city would not have collected if we were not collecting the sales tax on it," he said.

That amount, for example, would have been more than enough to cover the costs of maintaining regular library hours at the Meadows and Reynolds branches of the Boulder Public Library system. Late last year, the city struggled to come up with $60,500 to keep the branch hours. The expenses were eventually covered by cutting one half-time library management position and by not filling a vacant deputy city manager position.

Adam Odoski, owner of The Village Green Society dispensary, at 2043 16th St., said he has paid the city more than $1,200 in sales tax revenue in the two months his company has been in business.

He said he doesn't mind paying taxes on his products, but he is concerned about a proposed fee of $6,000 to become a licensed dispensary -- which includes a $3,000 application fee and a $3,000 license fee.

The city recently increased the proposed amount from $5,000 to $6,000 for first-time applications, citing an anticipated heavy workload to run criminal background checks and process paperwork. At the same time, the city has reduced the recommended ongoing annual renewal fee from $3,000 to $2,000.

He said he worries that some smaller, upstart companies might be forced out of business because of the fees.

"I think the city of Boulder does not have a full idea of what it takes to manage a medical marijuana dispensary," he said. "We reinvest everything back into our business."

Some members of the Boulder Planning Board, which on Feb. 18 approved the long-term rules that the council is expected to move along to a second reading tonight, did express concern about the fees.

While the officials agreed that medical marijuana should "pay its own way," they also suggested the city should have an annual review of the costs to make sure business owners aren't paying more than it actually costs to regulate them.

While the public may comment about the proposed regulations at the beginning of Tuesday night's council meeting, the item is on the consent agenda for a first reading and is not expected to have a full debate until later this month.

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